Jeff Moe Sr.’s childhood obsession with cars becomes lifelong love

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By Carol Sponagle

The State Journal-Register

By Carol Sponagle

Posted Jan. 10, 2014 at 1:00 AM

By Carol Sponagle
Posted Jan. 10, 2014 at 1:00 AM

Ever since Jeff Moe Sr. was 2, his main interest has been cars. Beginning his childhood with a toy car obsession, Moe spent his formative years at the Springfield Speedway, loving the rowdy fans, swirling dust and screaming engines of Sunday night stock-car races on Springfield’s east side.

By the time he was 16, Moe was ready to own a car. With his dad’s permission, he bought a honey beige 1950 Ford Custom Deluxe Coupe with a flathead V8 — a car he found at Pete’s Wrecking Yard in Springfield, where Calvary Temple now sits. In fairly good condition, with a new clutch, he purchased the car for $365.

“I drove it all through high school at Lanphier. When I quit driving it around 1970, it sat for about 17 or 18 years,” he recalls.

“Then a friend asked me to drive it to my 20th high school reunion. I fixed it up good enough to get it going again.”

After his reunion, Moe worked on the upholstery, added new tires and repainted the car to bring it to its current condition.

“I still drive it off and on,” he says.

Hobby to business

A few years after buying the coupe and graduating from high school, Moe made his obsession a career. In 1970, he started his own business selling cars with Jeff’s Auto Sales. Jeff’s Auto Sales, formerly located at 223 North Grand Ave. W., now sits at 2340 Clear Lake Ave.

His office, a small space adjacent to a garage, holds memorabilia spanning his childhood and career. Photos of victories at the Springfield, Jacksonville, Lincoln and Macon speedways cover the walls. Model cars and pictures of children and grandchildren enjoying cars cover shelves and desks.

When he started the business, he “had no real plan. Seldom does a business last 44 years,” he says.

By 1986, after a good start with his business at the North Grand location, Moe was ready to buy another car, so he found another Ford Deluxe Coupe — this time he bought the 1940 version. Black with a flathead V8, he had it repainted, replaced the engine and left everything else original except for the ’50s-era “tuck & roll” upholstery.

For Moe, it’s not just the make and model that piques his interest, but the history.

“They (’38-’40 Fords) were the top stock cars then. They were used as moonshine cars in the South and they were used for racing.

“They were also affordable in 1986,” he adds.

Adding to the collection

With two cars and a successful business, Moe wasn’t looking for another hobby car. But a chance find on a bike ride through the North Grand-area neighborhood led him to a garage that housed a black 1963½ Ford Galaxy XL with white upholstery, a 390 V8 and nothing wrong but four flat tires.

Page 2 of 2 - For Moe, this Galaxy was noteworthy. It was Ford’s first official half-year model, named for the “sports hardtop” or “fastback” modification (a feature shared by the 1963½ Falcon) that replaced the original 1963 notched back, three months into production. The fastback version outsold the original, making it the more popular sports car of that era.

“I couldn’t pass it up,” he says. “I’m a Ford man.”

But three cars weren’t enough for Moe.

Moe’s most recent collector car sits in his car lot garage now, receiving a little maintenance. Hood open and car seat in the back, it’s getting the attention it needs to make riding in it safe for his grandchildren, who enjoy trips to Mel-O-Cream in the car.

The black 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS Coupe with white stripes is an odd choice for the Ford man, but he “just liked it.”

“I bought (it) to resell in 1999, but then I bought it back a year later. The motor was bad, so I sold it again — he put a new engine in it and I bought it back,” he says, laughing.

In addition to the new 350-cubic-inch Chevy engine, the car has been modified with an automatic transmission with a shift kit, high performance heads and intake system and dual exhaust pipes.

“Even though it’s a Chevy, I like it,” he admits.

Moe’s love for cars is contagious. His 36-year-old son, Jeff, who works with his father, grew up racing quarter midgets, then sportsman cars. He goes to races with his father and his own children now, making the car obsession a multi-generational phenomenon.

Jeff Jr., aka “Little Moe,” is an admitted car enthusiast, and is often responsible for working on the cars his dad owns.

“He drives me nuts,” he jokes.

“I always have to get them running for him, but I drive the ’63 with my wife and two kids and they love it.”

Jeff Moe Sr.’s lifelong affinity for cars has proved a success for him from buying and driving his own cars, to his business of buying and selling cars, to passing his love for cars and racing on to his son and grandchildren.